Despicable act, despicable silence : The Khoupum rape
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: October 22, 2012 -

Despicable, an act which can only be conjured and put into action by demented minds. Despicable too is the lack of any spontaneous response to the incident.

On October 5, four school girls were raped by cadres who allegedly belonged to the Zeliangrong United Front, an armed outfit which took up the guns ostensibly on behalf of the people.

Apart from the sporadic statements of condemnations from some civil society organisations which have come in to the offices of the newspapers in Imphal, there have been no organised voice of protest so far. No one has taken to the street, except maybe in Khoupum village where the crime was committed.

An extremely localised response to a mind numbing incident. Okay a Goodwill Mission of Khoupum Problem has been formed as an outcome of the incident, but is this enough ?

The reaction of the people may have been completely different if the perpetrators of the crime had been anyone from the security forces. This is a given.

A case of the profile of the rapists becoming central to how people should react to crimes like rape and this is what is extremely disturbing.

Why is Imphal so quiet ? Is it because the despicable act took place in a far off village ?

Insulated mindset, a thought process that as long as it does not happen in one's own courtyard, there is no point in raising a voice and this does not cast society as a whole in any good light.

Important too is the response of the State Government to the incident. The girls have been raped but what steps are being mulled for their rehabilitation ?

Rape is not only about penile penetration, but has a whole lot to do with the mental and physical trauma that the victims undergo.

And in this case, we are talking about young school girls. Manipur has a State Commission for Women.

This is fine and it would be interesting to see what course of action or recommendations they make to the authority concerned and pursue them too. It cannot be a one off thing.

Manipur gave the meira paibi movement to the world. It is perhaps the only place in India which sets aside a day as a State Holiday to commemorate Nupi Lan.

It is also home to the historic Nupi/Ima Market, the one and only market place exclusively run by womenfolk.

All stereotypes and nothing much beyond this, if the silence or lack of spontaneous response to the rape of the four young students is any indication.

Apart from the rehabilitation process that must be taken up for the young girls, what about the rapists ? Or is the long arm of the law too long to fish in a tiny hamlet like Khoupum ?

Or is it a case of demitting responsibility and placing the onus of picking up the rapists on the organisation of which they were once members ? The skewed priority of the people needs to be set right.

The profile of the rapists should not dictate how the people should respond to an incident like rape. Whether they are security personnel, armed cadres of any organisation or whether they are the average office going Joe next door, the intensity of the response should be the same.

Selective protest and selective silence has been the bane of the society for far too long.

The wake up call has been rung out long time back, but the manner in which the people have turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to the reality knocking at their door is mind boggling.

It says something very significant about the overall mindset of the people. This is what is sickening.

If the rapists are demented minds, then what about the society which has so far maintained a ‘studied silence’ on the outrageous incident.

Time for serious soul searching.